Symptom
VMware snapshots fail with the following error message:
Unable to create a virtual machine snapshot of [<ClientName>]. [Snapshot hierarchy is too deep. Snapshot creation attempt took [<Time>]] Please check the virtual machine snapshot tree. It may be necessary to upgrade/reinstall the VMware tools on the virtual machine.
Cause
Additional snapshots cannot be created If there are too many snapshots of the virtual machine, or if there are too many unconsolidated snapshots. This can be caused by:
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A large number of manually or automatically created snapshots on the virtual machine.
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Outdated version of VMware Tools on the virtual machine, which is unable to quiesce the file system and applications.
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Failures during snapshot consolidation because a parent disk was open.
Resolution
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Delete snapshots on the virtual machine.
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Update VMware Tools to the latest version.
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Check for delta disks on the virtual machine or a virtual machine in the “needs consolidate” state. If the virtual machine cannot be manually consolidated, the owner of the lock on the disk needs to be identified. If HotAdd transport mode is being used for backups, the disks may still be attached to the backup proxy; if so they can be safely removed from the proxy.